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Emeutes à Karachi après l'assassinat d'un religieux

Sun May 30, 2004 2:12 PM CEST

KARACHI (Reuters) - La mort violente d'un haut dignitaire musulman pakistanais favorable aux taliban afghans a déclenché des heurts dimanche à Karachi, dans le sud du Pakistan, qui ont fait une vingtaine de blessés.

Le mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, qui avait appelé à la guerre sainte contre les Etats-Unis lorsqu'ils ont envahi l'Afghanistan et l'Irak, a été abattu par des hommes armés à l'extérieur de sa mosquée de Karachi.

Il a succombé à ses blessures après son transfert à l'hôpital.

"C'est purement un acte terroriste commis par ceux qui veulent l'anarchie et le chaos et qui veulent créer des tensions religieuses", a condamné le ministre pakistanais des Affaires religieuses, Ijazul Haq.

L'annonce sa mort a suscité des manifestations spontanées dans plusieurs quartiers de Karachi. Plusieurs milliers de personnes se sont rassemblées près de l'école coranique qu'il dirigeait.

Des échauffourées ont éclaté avec les forces de l'ordre. De sources médicales, on avance un bilan provisoire de 17 blessés, dont cinq personnes touchées par balles.

Selon le conseiller provincial à la sécurité, Shamzai faisait l'objet de menaces de mort et le gouvernement lui avait attribué des gardes du corps armés. "C'était un assassinat ciblé et selon nos informations, dix à douze personnes sont impliquées", a ajouté Aftab Sheikh.

D'après le récit d'un témoin, au moins quatre hommes armés ont ouvert le feu contre ce dignitaire sunnite qui comptait parmi les plus respectés du Pakistan.

Selon la chaîne de télévision privée Geo, ses agresseurs ont pris la fuite en moto et en voiture.

Nizamuddin Shamzai appartenait à l'école de pensée Deobandi, qui a fourni des milliers de combattants aux taliban en Afghanistan voisine.

Un haut responsable religieux sunnite abattu à Karachi
P Photos KAR101-109
KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) -- Un religieux sunnite pakistanais proche des talibans a été abattu par des inconnus dimanche à Karachi, déclenchant des émeutes dans la ville, des milliers de ses partisans s'en prenant à des magasins, des banques, et un poste de police.
Au moins trois policiers et quatre manifestants ont été blessés dans des échanges de tirs, selon la police, alors que les partisans du Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai scandaient des slogans contre les chiites, laissant craindre une nouvelle flambée de violence entre les deux communautés religieuses.
Le mufti a été tué par un groupe armé circulant dans deux voitures et sur un moto alors qu'il se rendait en camionnette à son école coranique dans l'est de la ville. Un de ses gardes du corps a riposté, blessant six des assaillants, toujours selon la police. Quatre personnes qui voyageaient avec le religieux, dont un de ses fils et un neveu, ont été légèrement blessés. Le mufti est lui mort des suites de ses blessures après son arrivée à l'hôpital.
Shamzai, un érudit âgé d'environ 70 ans, était proche de l'ancien régime afghan des talibans et opposé aux interventions américaines en Afghanistan et en Irak. Il dirigeait la madrasa Jamia Islamia à Binori Town, qui a formé des milliers d'étudiants en religion, et avait rencontré Oussama ben Laden et le mollah Mohammed Omar, peu avant les attentats du 11 septembre.
Immédiatement après l'attentat, des milliers d'étudiants des madrasas de tous les secteurs pachtouns de la ville sont descendus dans les rues, allumant des incendies et lançant des pierres sur les véhicules. Des centaines d'entre eux ont attaqué un commissariat de police proche de la madrasa de Binor Town, ou encore des banques, des cinémas, le siège d'un journal et nombre de boutiques.
La police était sur les dents, cherchant notamment à protéger les mosquées et centres chiites contre la colère des partisans du mufti.
Les émeutiers ont mis le feu à l'Institut Quaid-e-Azam, qui mène des recherches sur le père fondateur du Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah.
Karachi, principale ville du Pakistan et sa capitale commerciale, immense métropole de 14 millions d'habitants, et souvent en proie à la violence intercommunautaire et aux attentats. La semaine dernière, un double attentat à la voiture piégée a eu lieu près de la résidence du consul des Etats-Unis. Le 7 mai, un attentat-suicide faisait 22 morts dans une mosquée chiite. AP

© Le Nouvel Observateur 1999/2000

Sunni Muslim cleric killed
30/05/2004 12:19  - (SA)

Karachi - Unidentified gunmen shot dead a senior pro-Taliban cleric on Sunday, sparking riots across this southern Pakistani city by thousands of his Sunni Muslim supporters who ransacked shops, banks and a police station.

Police in Karachi opened fire to contain the angry crowds, who shouted slogans against rival Shiite Muslims, raising fears of sectarian unrest.

Some rioters fired automatic weapons as police moved against a mob of 2 000 who attacked a bank. The gunfire injured at least one uniformed officer and another man in plainclothes. Earlier, police said two protesters suffered gunshot wounds.

The violence started after gunmen riding in two cars and a motorcycle attacked the cleric, Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, a fervent critic of the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq . He had been travelling in a pickup truck to his Islamic seminary in the east of the city, said police official Fayyaz Qureshi.

A body guard of the cleric returned fire and wounded one of the six attackers, Qureshi said, quoting witnesses. Four others in Shamzai's vehicle were wounded - one of his sons, a nephew, his driver and a bodyguard - but none seriously.

Shamzai, who was in his 70s, died of gunshot wounds in a nearby hospital.

No one claimed responsibility for the killing, and there were no arrests.

Soft-spoken and scholarly man

Angry students from Sunni Muslim seminaries at ethnic Pashtun-dominated areas of the city poured onto the streets, setting fires and pelting passing vehicles with stones. Riot police and paramilitary rangers were deployed as security forces went on alert.

"Our task is to protect Shiite worship areas as we fear a backlash on these areas," said Major General Javed Zia, the chief of the paramilitary rangers in the city. "We are co-ordinating with police to maintain law and order."

Shamzai, a soft-spoken and scholarly man, was a strong supporter of Afghanistan 's former ruling Taliban regime. He headed the Jamia Islamia Binor Town religious school, where thousands of students get Islamic education.

He rose to prominence after the September 11, 2001, attacks on America when he led a delegation of clerics from Pakistan to Afghanistan in a last-ditch effort - that failed - to save the Taliban from US attack in late 2001 for hosting al-Qaeda.

Edited by Tisha Steyn

Pro - Taliban Cleric Killed in Pakistan

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: May 31, 2004

Filed at 3:05 a.m. ET

KARACHI , Pakistan (AP) -- Police stepped up security patrols Monday while Islamic hard-liners called for a nationwide strike after a leading pro-Taliban cleric was gunned down, touching off massive rioting by his followers.

The situation was tense but there was no immediate outbreak of violence following a day of unrest that saw police fire tear gas and warning shots to disperse rioters who set fire to banks, shops, a police station and a KFC fast-food restaurant.

Police formed a special task force to investigate the slaying of Nazamuddin Shamzai, a cleric in his 70s who had been a strong supporter of the former Taliban regime in neighboring Afghanistan and had met al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden.

The cleric, from the Sunni branch of Islam, had a large following in Pakistan . The United Action Forum, a coalition of six fundamentalist parties, called for a ``complete nationwide strike'' Friday to protest his slaying and to pressure police to arrest the attackers.

``We will not sit silent. We will protest against the brutal murder of a great religious personality,'' Maulana Fazur Rahman, a senior leader of the forum, told reporters as he visited Shamzai's home to express condolences.

``We will be forced to take other steps if the killers of Nizamuddin Shamzai are not arrested,'' Maulana said, without elaborating.

Hundreds of policemen and paramilitary rangers patrolled neighborhoods wracked by unrest Sunday. But residents remained indoors or went about their business against a backdrop of burned-out shopfronts and the carcasses of torched cars.

The identities of the killers are unknown and no one has claimed responsibility. Police have issued a sketch of one suspect.

Witnesses said the assassination team included as many as six gunmen riding in two cars and a motorcycle. They sprayed Shamzai's car with bullets Sunday morning, killing him and wounding one of his sons, a nephew, a driver and a police bodyguard.

The shooting was condemned Sunday by Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali as a ``dastardly act of terrorism.''

Religious violence is common in Karachi , Pakistan 's biggest city, and is usually blamed on outlawed extremist groups from the Sunni majority and Shiite minority. Places of worship of both branches of Islam are common targets, as are those of minority Christians.

The slaying of Shamzai, who ran one of Karachi 's largest religious schools, came three weeks after a suicide bomber killed 22 worshippers at a Shiite mosque and four days after two car bombings near the U.S. Consul's residence killed one person and injured 40.

Pro-Taliban cleric shot dead in Pakistan attack

CTV.ca News Staff
 
Updated: Sun. May. 30 2004 2:38 PM ET

A Sunni-Muslim cleric was gunned down in Karachi on Sunday, sparking a wave of violent unrest that surged through the southern Pakistani city.

An outspoken critic of the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq , Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai died after his pickup truck was attacked en route to his Islamic seminary in the east of Karachi .

Citing police official Fayyaz Qureshi, The Associated Press reports that assailants riding in two cars and a motorcycle opened fire, also wounding four others.

One of the six attackers was wounded in return fire, Qureshi said.

Shamzai, who was in his 70s, later died of gunshot wounds at a nearby hospital.

Though no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, the cleric's supporters were quick to register their anger as they set fires and pelted vehicles with stones as they passed through ethnic Pashtun-dominated areas of the city.

Riot police and paramilitary rangers were deployed to contain the angry crowds opened fire, wounding at least two protesters.

According to the chief of the paramilitary rangers in the city, security officials fear anger to grow into sectarian violence between Sunni Muslims and rival Shiites.

"Our task is to protect Shiite worship areas as we fear a backlash on these areas," Maj. Gen. Javed Zia told AP.

"We are coordinating with police to maintain law and order."

Officials say three policemen were beaten and several vehicles and offices destroyed when hundreds of Shamzai supporters swept through.

At one point, some 2,000 rioters attacked a building housing a bank and a newspaper, prompting police to deploy from armored cars firing guns and tear gas. Automatic fire was heard answering from within the crowd.

By day's end, rioters had set fire to banks, shops, a cinema, a gas station and a KFC fast food restaurant.

On Sunday evening, tens of thousands of mourners gathered for Shamzai's funeral. The 10-kilometre funeral procession was overseen by more than 15,000 police and rangers.

Shamzai, who headed the large Jamia Islamia Binor Town religious school, rose to prominence after the Sept. 11, 2001.

He led a failed delegation of Pakistani clerics who tried to stem the U.S. operation to remove the Taliban from Afghanistan late that year.

Sometime before the Sept. 11 attacks, Shamzai reportedly met with Osama bin Laden as well as reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar.

In recent weeks, Karachi has been wracked by a number of violent clashes and terror attacks.

Last week, twin car bombs exploded near the U.S. Consul's residence in the city of 14 million. And on May 7, 22 people died in a suicide bombing at a Shiite Muslim mosque.

Militants angry with President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's cooperation with the White House 'war on terror' are blamed for much of the violence, but clashes are also common between rival Sunnis and Shiites.

© Copyright 2004 Bell Globemedia Inc.

La piste de l'attentat suicide est privilégiée à Karachi

Tue June 1, 2004 8:47 AM CEST

par Aamir Achraf

KARACHI (Reuters) - La police pakistanaise privilégiait mardi la thèse de l'attentat suicide au lendemain de l'explosion dans une mosquée chiite de la ville de Karachi, dont le bilan s'est élevé dans la nuit à 19 morts.

Trois autres personnes ont été tuées et une cinquante blessées dans les émeutes qui ont éclaté après l'attentat contre la mosquée Ali Raza Imam Bargah et la tension restait très forte mardi matin.

"C'était apparemment un attentat suicide, parce que nous n'avons pas retrouvé de cratère qu'aurait creusé une bombe", a déclaré un haut responsable de la police de Karachi.

"Nous n'avons pas pu réunir beaucoup d'indices parce qu'une foule en colère nous a interdit d'entrer dans la mosquée. La situation est tendue", a-t-il ajouté, précisant que les forces de l'ordre avaient été déployées en nombre dans les quartiers chiites de cette ville du sud du Pakistan.

Ce déploiement n'a pas empêché de violents affrontements dans la nuit entre chiites et forces de l'ordre. Une vingtaine de voitures ainsi que deux stations-service ont été incendiées ainsi qu'une agence bancaire.

Trois émeutiers qui s'étaient emparés d'une ambulance ont été abattus par les forces de l'ordre.

La police s'attend à de nouvelles émeutes lors des funérailles des victimes de l'attentat, programmées dans la journée de mardi.

La population redoutait de nouvelles violences entre sunnites et chiites à Karachi après l'assassinat, dimanche, du mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai. Ce haut dignitaire sunnite, favorable aux taliban afghans, avait appelé à la guerre sainte contre les Etats-Unis lorsqu'ils avaient envahi l'Afghanistan et l'Irak.

Sa mort a provoqué dimanche des émeutes qui ont fait une vingtaine de blessés.

La mosquée chiite Ali Raza Imam Bargah est située à un kilomètre seulement de l'endroit où Shamzai a été tué.

Une précédente attaque contre une mosquée chiite de Karachi a fait 24 morts et 125 blessés le 7 mai dernier lors de la grande prière hebdomadaire du vendredi.

Les violences confessionnelles entre sunnites (qui représentent environ 70% de la population pakistanaise) et chiites (20%) ont fait 150 morts au cours de la seule année écoulée.

Selon la télévision d'Etat, le président pakistanais, Pervez Musharraf, a exigé que le gouvernement provincial de Karachi rétablisse l'ordre et réprime les responsables de ces attentats.

Quelque 15.000 policiers et paramilitaires ont été déployés dans les rues de Karachi.

Tue Jun 1, 3:58 PM ET

Two Pakistani men throw water as they attempt to douse the flames of a bus set on fire in Karachi . Riots have brought Karachi to a virtual standstill, with shopkeepers and public transport too scared of riots to operate.(AFP/Jewel Samad)

The New York Times

14 Die in Bombing of Shiite Mosque in Karachi

By SALMAN MASOOD

Published: June 1, 2004

KARACHI , Pakistan , May 31 - At least 14 people were killed and 38 wounded Monday night when a powerful bomb exploded in a Shiite mosque here, police officials said. The attack set off a wave of violent protest, and angry demonstrators clashed with riot police officers across the city. At least two people were killed in the rioting, local news media reported.

The bombing was the fourth terrorist incident in a single month in Karachi , Pakistan 's largest city and a center of sectarian attacks in recent years.

President Pervez Musharraf, who has vowed to crack down on Islamic militancy and has banned several sectarian groups, expressed his deep concern and vowed to take serious action to stop violence in the city.

The attack happened around 7:45 p.m. at Imambargah Ali Raza Mosque in an upscale Karachi neighborhood. According to witnesses, the blast resonated for blocks around the mosque and blew out windows.

Local news channels were filled with images of badly burned worshipers being carried to ambulances and of rescue workers scrambling to help the wounded.

After the blast, young demonstrators gathered on various streets in Karachi and damaged public and private property, the police said. The police said officers used tear gas and batons to disperse the rioters and also exchanged gunfire with demonstrators in several districts.

Dozens of people were reported wounded in the clashes, and at least two people were killed by police gunfire, a private news channel reported.

Some government officials speculated that the explosion could have been in retaliation for the killing of a prominent Sunni leader, Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, by unidentified gunmen in Karachi on Sunday. That killing sent thousands of the mufti's angry supporters, mostly students, into the streets, fighting with the police and vandalizing property. The city had barely calmed down by Monday evening, when the explosion struck.

Leading religious scholars, both Sunni and Shiite, and politicians all condemned the bombing as an attempt to create chaos.

The governor of Sindh State , Ishratul Ebad Khan, described it as an "incident of terrorism and part of a conspiracy to pit brother against brother and destabilize the country." He appealed to residents for patience and restraint.

The sectarian violence in Karachi has followed a distinct pattern, with Sunni leaders singled out individually for attack while Shiite mosques have been hit by bombings.

The recent spate of violence has set off a wave of panic, creating unrest especially among the minority Shiites, who make up about 20 percent of the population. Violence between Sunnis and Shiites has killed more than 1, 200 people in Pakistan in the past 15 years.

The terror attacks this month began May 7, when 22 people were killed by a suicide bomber at a Shiite mosque. On May 26, a police officer was killed and 26 people were wounded when two car bombs went off outside an English-language school in Karachi , near the residence of the American consul general.

Angry Shi'ites Mourn 19 Killed in Pakistan Blast
Tue Jun 1, 2004 06:33 AM ET

By Aamir Ashraf

KARACHI (Reuters) - Angry Shi'ite Muslims clashed with police during funerals on Tuesday for many of the 19 people killed in an apparent sectarian suicide bombing of a mosque in the Pakistani city of Karachi.

Riot police fired tear gas to drive back crowds of thousands gathered for the funerals as some people pelted them with stones and torched nearby vehicles.

"We have no faith in police and rangers because they failed to protect our mosques," senior Shi'ite cleric Hasan Zafar Naqvi said. "We demand that the government deploy the army to ensure their security and safety."

The ceremonies were held in front of the Ali Raza Imam Bargah mosque, on one of Karachi 's main thoroughfares, where the blast took place during evening prayers on Monday.

The explosion wounded at least 50 people, some seriously, and three Shi'ites died later in clashes with police.

The bombing appeared to be the latest in a spate of tit-for-tat sectarian violence in the volatile port city, coming less than 24 hours after the killing of Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, a senior cleric from Pakistan 's majority Sunni Muslim sect.

Thousands of angry Shi'ite mourners beat their chests and chanted "God is Greatest" as friends and relatives bore caskets draped in white and black cloth. Some waved wooden stakes and iron bars and chanted "Down with America !"

Police and paramilitary troops from among the 15,000 deployed in a failed attempt to protect Shi'ite mosques kept their distance after Monday's rioting, in which angry crowds set ablaze 20 vehicles, two filling stations and a local bank.

But they fired in the air when some mourners threw stones at them.

Naqvi complained that police had detained at least 30 Shi'ite mourners and demanded their immediate release.

Shops and businesses in Karachi 's main commercial district were shuttered on Tuesday for fear of further violence.

It was the second bloody attack on a Shi'ite mosque in Karachi in less than a month.

"It was apparently a suicide attack, because we did not find any crater caused by bomb explosion," a senior police official said on condition of anonymity. "The situation is tense. There is a high deployment of police and rangers in Shi'ite areas."

A suspected Sunni suicide bomber killed 24 people and wounded 125 in an attack on another Shi'ite mosque on May 7.

MUSHARRAF DEMANDS ACTION

State television said President Pervez Musharraf had ordered the provincial government in Karachi to take immediate steps to restore order and act against those responsible.

In a speech in Islamabad , Musharraf called on Muslims and the West to work toward resolving their differences to prevent civilization falling into an "abyss of barbarism."

The mosque targeted in the bombing was less than a mile from where Shamzai, a pro-Taliban cleric who called for "jihad," or holy war, against the United States , was killed on Sunday.

While the latest bombing smacked of decades-old sectarianism, analysts say it appears Sunni militants have been using attacks on Shi'ites as part of a broader campaign to undermine Musharraf and his support for the U.S.-led war on terror.

Violence between Sunnis, who make up about 70 percent of Pakistan 's 97 percent majority Muslim population and Shi'ites, who account for 20 percent, has killed more than 150 people in the past year alone.

Analysts and diplomats have expressed fears the new round of violence could provoke fresh attacks on Western targets.

Last Wednesday, a policeman was killed and more than 30 people hurt when two car bombs detonated by suspected Sunni militants exploded near the home of the U.S. consul.

Ingrained hatred Shi'ites also feel for the United States has not ebbed despite the U.S. focus on containing Sunni militancy after the September 11 attacks in 2001 and the mood has been exacerbated by U.S. clashes with Shi'ites in Iraq.

Such feelings date back to U.S. opposition to the Islamic revolution in neighboring and predominately Shi'ite Iran. (With reporting by Zeeshan Haider and Tahir Ikram)

Musharraf lance un appel au calme

Mise à jour le mardi 1 juin 2004, 12 h 45 .

Le président pakistanais Pervez Musharraf lance un appel à la modération au lendemain de l'attentat qui a causé la mort de 19 Chiites, à Karachi.

L'homme fort du Pakistan, qui est un allié des États-Unis dans sa guerre au terrorisme, exhorte aussi musulmans et occidentaux à régler leurs différents afin d'éviter de sombrer dans la barbarie. Il demande aux deux parties de revoir leurs politiques, écorchant à la fois l'impérialisme américain et l'extrémisme religieux.

Bombe à Karachi après l'assassinat d'un mufti

La tension monte entre les communautés religieuses sunnite et chiite pakistanaises.

L'explosion d'une bombe dans une mosquée chiite de Karachi, lundi, a fait au moins 19 morts et 35 blessés. Des dizaines de personnes étaient réunies pour la prière du soir lorsque la déflagration s'est produite.

Des émeutes ont aussitôt éclaté dans le quartier et des coups de feu ont été échangés avec la police.

La mosquée se trouve à moins d'un kilomètre de l'endroit où le théologien et dignitaire sunnite Nizamuddin Shamzai a été assassiné, dimanche.

Des hommes armés avaient fait feu sur le mufti au moment où il sortait de son domicile. Le fils du religieux et deux autres personnes qui l'accompagnaient ont été blessés dans l'attentat, qui n'a pas été revendiqué.

Pour venger sa mort, des partisans du mufti s'en sont pris à un bureau de police, blessant par balle trois policiers.

Âgé de 70 ans, Nizamuddin Shamzai entretenait des relations avec l'ancien régime taliban en Afghanistan et il s'opposait aux interventions américaines dans ce pays.

Il avait organisé plusieurs manifestations anti-américaines après le renversement des talibans en 2001.

Pakistani city faces third day of riots after cleric killed, mosque bombed
- ZARAR KHAN, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, June 1, 2004

(06-01) 09:22 PDT KARACHI , Pakistan (AP) --

Shiite Muslims enraged by a mosque bombing that killed 20 worshippers battled police and burned American fast-food restaurants Tuesday as the government struggled to contain a third day of violence in Pakistan's largest city.

Mass funerals for the victims of Monday's attack sparked what appeared to be orchestrated rioting as hundreds of youths rampaged near the wrecked Imam Bargah Ali Raza mosque, stoning police and setting fire to shops and buses.

Along a quarter-mile battle-scarred stretch of Karachi 's main road, men with guns took up four or five positions on rooftops and fired at police and paramilitary rangers.

Police Chief Asad Ashraf Malik said four policemen were wounded by gunfire, and that 150 had been arrested -- in addition to more than 50 detained during street riots Monday night.

Asad threatened more force.

"We have decided not to be lenient. If anyone goes on the streets to cause trouble, they will be dealt with strictly," he said.

Karachi , a volatile city of 14 million, is no stranger to armed violence motivated by crime, politics and religion. Sectarian strife between militant elements of majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shiites has only deepened since President Gen. Pervez Musharraf gave his support to the U.S.-led war on terrorism in late 2001.

But the city has endured three unusually turbulent weeks since a May 7 suicide attack at a Shiite mosque killed 22 people. It was followed by bloody clashes during elections that left at least 10 dead and a twin car bombing near the U.S. consul-general's residence last week that killed a policeman and injured 40 others.

The drive-by shooting Sunday of prominent Sunni cleric, Nazamuddin Shamzai, made matters much worse, triggering unrest and raising fears of sectarian clashes -- a fear magnified after Monday's bombing at the Shiite mosque that killed 20 people and injured 75. Police suspect it was a suicide attack but have few clues about who was behind it.

No one has claimed responsibility for any of the recent attacks.

Musharraf pledged action to stem the bloodshed, but no new measures were announced. Separately, he warned in a speech to representatives of Muslim countries that the world risked plunging into an "abyss of barbarism" unless it tackled the poverty and alienation that feeds Islamic extremism.

Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the president was expected to make "important decisions" in the coming days -- perhaps replacing the leadership of the Karachi or provincial security establishment -- but appeared to rule out the possibility of emergency rule by the army.

"There could be changes at important places," Ahmed told The Associated Press.

Among the estimated 10,000 mourners who gathered for the funerals of the victims of Monday's bombing, many vented anger at Musharraf, chanting "Death to America " and slogans against his government as they beat their chests in grief.

A few hundred of the mourners started stoning police, who fired tear gas. Rioters set fire to buses, shops and offices near the mosque, leading to exchanges of gunfire. Riots broke out in four or five other places in the city.

Malik, the police chief, said that in all, about 35 vehicles and 12 to 15 shops and restaurants were burned, including a KFC and a McDonald's.

Shiite clerics had earlier urged mourners to show restraint during the mass funerals that proceeded to two different Shiite graveyards, the route patrolled by police in riot gear.

"Everybody who is a Muslim should understand that some elements want to create unrest," said Yousaf Hussain, a Shiite leader. "They are the enemy of Pakistan and Islam, and I ask you to understand this conspiracy and show patience."

The May 26 twin car-bombing near the U.S. consul-general's residence was labeled a retaliation by outlawed terror group Harkat-u-Mujahedden-al-Almi over the recent arrests of seven members.

Harkat is accused of a failed attempt to assassinate Musharraf with a car bomb in 2002 and of a car bombing at the U.S. Consulate in the same year that killed 14 people.

©2004 Associated Press

Pakistan Top Cop Fired Following Unrest

Wednesday June 2, 2004 3:01 PM

By ZARAR KHAN

Associated Press Writer

KARACHI , Pakistan (AP) - The Karachi police chief was fired Wednesday after three days of violent unrest left at least 25 people dead and brought Pakistan 's largest city and commercial hub to a standstill.

Government officials struggled to explain what was behind the wave of violence, with one accusing al-Qaida of trying to spark sectarian fighting between the Sunni Muslim majority and the Shiite minority.

Police closed roads and took position outside the U.S. Consulate, a frequent target of terrorist attack in recent years, after a Shiite group announced plans to demonstrate there.

The chief minister of Sindh province, Ali Muhammad Maher, met with security chiefs to discuss the worsening situation in the city of 14 million people, triggered by the assassination of a prominent Sunni cleric Sunday and the suicide bombing of a Shiite mosque a day later that killed 20 people. No one has claimed responsibility for either attack.

Three days of rioting by Sunni and Shiite mobs followed the attacks, with most violence - including gunfire - aimed at hundreds of riot police deployed in different neighborhoods. Shops, cars, buses and government buildings were set afire. Four people, all civilians, died in exchanges of gunfire.

Karachi police chief Asad Malik and two other senior officers were transferred immediately on Wednesday, police spokesman Mughis Pirzada said. No explanation was given and no replacements announced.

``We cannot leave Karachi to the mercy of terrorists, and we cannot afford any negligence when the lives and property of people are involved,'' Maher said. ``The police have to work to control the situation and bring Karachi back to normal.''

The rioters have vented anger at U.S. interests, with mobs chanting ``Death to America '' and burning KFC and McDonalds restaurants. Anti-U.S. feeling grew in Pakistan after President Gen. Pervez Musharraf allied the country with Washington in the war on terror after Sept. 11, 2001.

Karachi is a flashpoint for Pakistan 's religious and ethnic divisions and the city has a history of Sunni-Shiite conflict. The metropolis had been showing signs of calm in recent months until a bombing at Shiite mosque May 7 that killed 14 people.

That bombing was followed by violence during by-elections that left 10 dead and the twin car-bombing a week ago near the residence of the U.S. Consul-General that killed a policeman and wounded 40 others.

Religious Affairs Minister Ijazul Haq told a news conference in the capital, Islamabad , that the most recent violence was ``al-Qaida related.''

``There are no Sunni fighting Shiites,'' Haq said. ``There is no sectarian fighting. But the whole purpose behind this is that there should be a Shiite-Sunni clash. This is a very well-calculated strategy, which is being implemented by terrorists.''

Earlier, Abdur Rauf Chaudhry, an Interior Ministry spokesman, refused to speculate on an al-Qaida role and said, ``We think they were sectarian incidents.''

Only scattered violence was reported Wednesday, with groups of youths throwing stones in some places and one vehicle set afire. Shopkeepers closed their shutters and many workers stayed home to protect their lives and vehicles.

Police freed about 60 of the 150 people they had detained during the previous three days and kept up heavy patrols.

An Islamic fundamentalist rke in Islamabad on Friday to protest the violence and accused unnamed ``enemy agents'' of killing both Sunnis and Shiites to break ``sectarian unity.''

About 80 percent of Pakistan 's 150 million people are Sunni Muslims, about 17 percent Shiites, and the rest Christians and other minorities.

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

Emeutes à Karachi lors des obsèques des victimes du terrorisme (6/2/2004)

Des affrontements ont opposé émeutiers à la police mardi à Karachi (sud du Pakistan) lors des obsèques des 19 victimes d'un attentat suicide contre une mosquée chiite de la ville à l'heure de la prière, ont rapporté des témoins.
Le président pakistanais, Pervez Musharraf, "gravement préoccupé" s'apprêtait de son côté à prendre d'importantes mesures contre les violences qui secouent depuis plusieurs semaines la principale ville du pays, a déclaré le ministre de l'Information Sheikh Rashid.
"Il va prendre une décision importante pour protéger et épargner des vies et rétablir l'ordre", a-t-il dit à l'AFP. Il n'a pas indiqué quelles étaient les mesures envisagées mais a précisé qu'elles pourraient intervenir dans les prochains jours.
Des milliers de personnes s'étaient rassemblées mardi pour les obsèques des victimes de l'attentat de la veille.
Après l'échec de négociations avec la police sur le défilé, des manifestants ont mis le feu à un car de police, à un mini-bus, à six motos et à une banque. Un peu plus loin, plusieurs boutiques ont également été pillées et certaines incendiées, selon des témoins.
La police a répliqué par des tirs de grenades lacrymogènes. Aucune victime n'a été signalée dans l'immédiat.
Dans les heures qui ont suivi l'attentat, des violences avaient déjà éclaté faisant trois morts, victimes d'échanges de coups de feu entre la police et des manifestants. Une vingtaine de voitures ont également été incendiées.
L'attentat de lundi s'est produit alors que des dizaines de fidèles assistaient à la prière du soir dans une mosquée située non loin du quartier où le mufti sunnite Nizamuddin Shamzai, 70 ans, avait été tué dimanche.
Le premier bilan de 15 morts et 35 blessés s'est alourdi avec le décès de quatre des blessés, a annoncé mardi la police.
Pour éviter un engrenage de représailles après l'assassinat du dignitaire sunnite, 15.000 policiers et miliciens avaient pourtant été déployés dans la ville, port de 14 millions d'habitants, où les violences inter-confessionnelles entre sunnites majoritaires et chiites ont fait plus de 4.000 morts depuis les années 1980.
Mardi, la police privilégiait la piste d'un attentat suicide. "Nous avons ramassé des morceaux de corps indiquant qu'il s'agissait d'une explosion suicide. Et il n'y a pas non plus de cratère sur le site", a expliqué un enquêteur, Manzoor Mughal.
L'attentat n'a pas été revendiqué mais la police l'a qualifié d'acte de terrorisme.
Depuis le 7 mai, date d'un attentat suicide à la voiture piégée dans une mosquée chiite, qui avait fait 23 morts et une centaine de blessés, Karachi a connu un regain de violence. Le 25 mai, des bombes ont tué deux personnes et, le lendemain, l'explosion de deux voitures piégées près de la résidence du consul général des Etats-Unis a fait un mort et 32 blessés.
Le ministre Cheikh Rashid a démenti mardi que les autorités pakistanaises aient perdu le contrôle de Karachi, creuset de rivalités ethniques, religieuses et politiques, longtemps considéré comme un repère de trafiquants d'armes et de drogue et aujourd'hui comme un havre pour des militants islamistes chassés d'Afghanistan.
Pour le leader chiite Hasan Turabi, l'assassinat de Shamzai et l'attentat qui s'en est suivi représentent "une tentative de diviser les deux communautés musulmanes".

Shiite Muslims raise their hands as they chant anti-government slogans in protest of a bombing of a Shiite mosque in Karachi , Pakistan , during a rally Thursday, June 3, 2004. Police and Shiite Muslim protesters exchanged gunfire Thursday, leaving one man dead, while investigators named an al-Qaida-linked militant group as their chief suspect in the suicide bombing that triggered mass rioting. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

Police officers take away a religious student as they disperse protesters during a rally against Monday's bombing of Shiite Muslim mosque that killed dozens of people in Karachi , Pakistan , Friday, June 4, 2004. Isolated unrest hit the tense Karachi Friday as Sunni Muslim protesters attacked police station, injuring 10 people. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

Pakistan declares security zones around foreign missions in Karachi
(AFP)

7 June 2004

KARACHI - Authorities on Monday declared “high security zones” around foreign missions in violence-hit Karachi , Pakistan ’s largest city, after 51 people were killed in a month of bloodshed and three days of riots.

“We have decided to bring certain areas which remained under constant threat from the terrorists like the US consulate and other foreign missions under high security zones,” Karachi police chief Tariq Jamil told AFP.

Crack police commandos would be deployed and emergency centres would be established in the zones, in which roads could easily be closed in case of any threat, he said.

“These areas will have special status as far as security is concerned,” Jamil said.

“The decision has been taken as in the past two years there have been suicide bombings and terrorist attacks, besides constant threats,” he said.

Areas around the local headquarters of army, police and paramilitary rangers, the Karachi port and the government headquarters will also be classed high security, he said.

The decision was taken after five terror attacks in the city, including two sectarian-related suicide bombings, which triggered riots.

On May 26 two car bombs exploded near the residence of the US consul general in what was supposed to be a well-guarded street. One policeman was killed and scores of police and journalists were injured.

One day before a parcel bomb at Karachi port killed two people.

Two suicide bombers struck at mosques used by the Shiite Muslim minority on May 7 and May 31, killing 44 worshippers in total. On May 30 a senior cleric of the Sunni majority was gunned down.

Another three people were killed in rioting after the cleric was killed and after the May 31 mosque attack.

Karachi , long a haunt of drug-smugglers, gun-runners and militants, has been wracked by ethnic, sectarian and political violence for decades.

Since the United States launched its bombardment of Afghanistan in October 2001 to oust the Taliban for harbouring Osama bin Laden, the Arabian Sea city has been noted for its anti-Western terror strikes.

In January 2002 US reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by Islamic militants. Two suicide car bomb attacks the same year killed 26 people including 11 French naval technicians outside the Sheraton hotel and the US consulate.

Pakistan : Crise politique dans le Sud après les attentats de Karachi

Le gouverneur de la province du Sindh, dans le Sud du Pakistan, a dissous le 8 juin le gouvernement régional et convoqué une session d'urgence du parlement, après que le chef du gouvernement local eut démissionné à la suite de la série d'attentats qui a ensanglanté Karachi le mois dernier.
Ali Mohammad Maher a démissionné le 7 juin soir après qu'une cinquantaine de personnes eurent été tuées dans des violences en mai dans la plus grande ville du Pakistan. Le gouverneur du Sindh, Ishratul Ibad, a convoqué le parlement régional pour qu'il élise un nouveau dirigeant le 9 juin.
Le chef de la police de Karachi avait été renvoyé la semaine dernière après les attentats et des émeutes qui avaient suivi. Le président Pervez Musharraf a promis des mesures pour faire reculer la violence et aurait déclaré à un proche collaborateur vouloir que "des têtes tombent" dans l'administration du Sindh. Trois candidats sont pressentis pour remplacer le chef du gouvernement, M. Maher, tous membres de la coalition des partis soutenant le président Musharraf au niveau fédéral. Mais des observateurs doutent qu'un changement de gouvernement soit suffisant pour apaiser cette ville de 14 millions d'habitants où la violence est endémique.

AFP/VNA
( 09/06/04 )